


arch nemesis

by laurenjauregui



Series: you make me sick (for being so perfect) drafts [10]
Category: Fifth Harmony (Band)
Genre: F/F, autistic!lauren, camila is in extreme denial, oblivious!camila
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-21
Updated: 2017-05-21
Packaged: 2018-11-03 08:52:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10963860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laurenjauregui/pseuds/laurenjauregui
Summary: Camila is used to being the best in her class, but college changes that. When she meets a sophomore named Lauren, who constantly beats her by the tiniest margin in her literature class, she can't help but despise the girl, and Camila ultimately decides that Lauren Jauregui is her arch nemesis.





	arch nemesis

Camila Cabello hates Lauren Jauregui.

In fact, she’d go as far as to say that Lauren is her arch nemesis. She’s never actually _spoken_ to her, but Lauren’s mere existence upsets her. If it wasn’t for Lauren Jauregui, Camila would be top of her class.

In every test, if _Camila_ gets a 100, _Lauren_ has somehow managed to get extra credit that Camila had no idea about. If Camila does something outstanding in class, _Lauren_ does something even _more_ outstanding.

 _God_ , Camila _hates_ her.

Before college, Camila was always top of her class. Nobody beat her, and she got to college to study a literature degree, happy that she’ll be able to focus on the one subject and not a plethora of others that she doesn’t care about.

But every test, _Lauren_ always beats her, even if it’s by 0.01%. Another reason why Camila can’t _stand_ her, is because literature isn’t even Lauren’s major. From her extensive Facebook stalking – _out of hate_ , obviously – she knows that Lauren is a biology and animal studies double major. _Why_ she’s in Camila’s literature class, and _why_ she’s so fucking good at it is unknown to her.

She’s a sophomore, too, so Camila is clearly disadvantaged.

Camila is _determined_ to beat her. So, when the grades for their last test are posted, and she glances over at Lauren’s paper, she deflates. Camila had got a 99. _Lauren_ has a 100.

She’s so fucking angry, because Camila works so _hard_ to be the top of her class, and _Lauren_ comes along and ruins it for her. _Lauren Jauregui_ , and her perfect grades, her stupid hair that always seems to fall in the right place despite being messy, her _irritating_ green eyes, her annoyingly cute black and grey bomber jacket that Camila never sees her without, and her downright _awful_ smile.

(She hates her, she hates her, she hates her.)

Naturally, being second _again_ puts Camila in the worst mood. She’s so annoyed that she excuses herself to the bathroom in the middle of class so she can splash some water on her face and help herself calm down, because she _knows_ it’s dumb that she gets so irritated about it, but Lauren beats her by the tiniest margins, and it’s the _worst_. It’s like finding out that you were one mark off an A on your exam. _Annoying._

When she goes back to class, she’s still seething, but she notices a note on the table where she’d been sat. She picks it up with a frown, because she doesn’t remember leaving anything except her notebook and pen.

She thinks that maybe it’s a mistake, but _Camila Cabello_ is written on the folded up piece of paper in neat cursive. She opens up the note, wondering where the hell it came from.

_Hi,_

_I don’t do things like this, but my best friend told me I should follow my heart, and that’s what I’m doing._

_So, I just wanted to say that you’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen. Your smile lights up the entire room, but I don’t get to see it that often, which is a terrible misfortune, but I guess that makes it ten times more precious on the rare occasions I do get to see it. Your hair always looks good, like you just wake up and it’s always perfect like that. I love your eyes the most. A lot of people prefer blue or green eyes, but I love brown eyes, yours especially. Sometimes, the light hits you perfectly, and your eyes turn a deep amber, and sometimes I wish that they were directed at me, but I’m sure you don’t know I exist. Your eyes are the windows to the soul, and I bet your soul is just as beautiful as your eyes are._

_This letter is a mess, but I’m shaking while writing this, if it gives you a picture of how nervous I am. I’ve liked you since your freshman orientation, when you walked into an introductory lecture I was volunteering at ten minutes late and tripped over your own feet. While you probably look back on that as an embarrassing moment, I thought that your clumsiness was very endearing. I don’t intend to tell you who I am, but I really wanted you to know that someone out there thinks that you’re a beautiful person, both inside and out, and I hope that it makes your day. I’m sorry if this creeped you out, and those weren’t my intentions. I just wanted to make you smile._

_Love, M._

Camila reads over the letter as many times as she can, hard to believe that it’s directed at _her_. Whoever this _M_ person is, she really hopes they’re a girl, and that they’ll eventually tell her who she is. Even if they don’t plan on it, Camila intends to find out.

She’s always been in love with the idea of a secret admirer. She just never thought it’d happen to her.

Their professor’s voice ruins Camila’s mood entirely. “Anyway, I’d like to say a well done to Lauren, for getting a one hundred. You can all get there, if you work as hard as she does.”

Camila wants to scoff. _She_ works harder than _Lauren_ does. It’s not her fault if her teacher rarely tells them about the extra credit, or puts in a confusing question that throws her off. It annoys her so much, and when she arrives back in her room after all of her classes, she’s still pouting about it. “I just _hate her_.”

Dinah, her roommate, rolls her eyes. “Mila, aren’t you the top in literally all of your other classes? One doesn’t matter.”

“It _does_ , because I’m not the best at something I’ve always been amazing at,” Camila huffs, “god, she’s so stupid.”

Dinah laughs. “Clearly she’s not stupid, if she’s beating you.”

“Whatever, you know what I meant by that,” Camila sighs. “Just _once_ , I want to beat her at something. You know, I never thought I’d have an arch nemesis, but-”

“You know, considering you hate her so much, you talk about her constantly,” Dinah points out with a teasing grin. “Literally after every class, you come back ranting about _Lauren Jauregui_ and how annoying you think she is.”

“Because she’s the worst,” Camila huffs, “she’s not even a literature major. She does a double major in biology and animal studies. Why does she even need to take a literature class? She should stick to playing with rabbits.”

Dinah snorts. “Whatever. There’s this party tonight. Go with me?”

Camila sighs. She really hates parties, but she’s so _angry_ about the whole thing with Lauren. Maybe going to someone else’s and drinking their alcohol will make her feel better. “Okay. Sure.”

“Good,” Dinah grins, “it’ll take your mind off Jauregui.”

“ _Ugh_ ,” Camila groans, flopping down on her bed, “like, I’ve never hated anyone more than I hate her. Fuck her and her stupid perfect grades.”

Dinah mutters something that sounds a lot like _you’d like to do that_ , but Camila ignores that. “Look, Mila, we’re going to hook you up with a cute girl tonight and you won’t have to think about your grades, that aren’t even _bad_ by the way.”

“I know they’re not bad,” Camila says, “they’re good, and my parents are so proud of me, but I’m not the _best_ , and that annoys me. I’m not better than _her_ , my _nemesis_.”

Dinah snorts with laughter. “Does she even know you exist?”

“I mean… _no_ ,” Camila mutters, “but… but she doesn’t _have_ to know I exist for me to hate her.”

“Then she’s hardly your nemesis, is she?” Dinah points out. “You may not like her, but I’m pretty sure _nemeses_ are two people who hate each other. Not you hating her and her being completely oblivious to the whole thing.”

“Well, whatever,” Camila sighs, “Do you need the bathroom? Because I want to take a shower.”

“Nope, I showered this morning,” Dinah says, “Ally is coming to meet us, the party is a friend of hers’. Normani, I think, she’s a sophomore.”

“Okay,” Camila nods, and decides that she’s going to take Dinah’s advice. Drinking and hooking up with a cute girl will take her mind off her latest defeat. “I mean, there was _one_ good thing about today.”

Dinah lets out a mock gasp. “You went three hours without falling over?”

“ _No_ ,” Camila blushes and rolls her eyes, before she gets out the note from M. “This. It’s a note. From an admirer.”

Dinah takes it and reads it over, her eyes widening at the words on the page. “You have to find them.”

Camila laughs. “I’m planning on it. I’m going to need your help, though. I know they’re in my literature class, and obviously they have something to do with the letter _M_. I doubt they’d pick that randomly.”

“It’s probably the first letter of their name,” Dinah points out, “it’d suck if it was a boy. Like, you’re all hyped about it, but then you couldn’t even like the dude.”

“There’s no way a boy’s handwriting is that neat,” Camila argues, “it’s got to be a girl. Besides, a guy would write something like _damn girl, I wanna smash that ass_ or something equally as ridiculous. It’s a girl. I know it.”

“Well, whatever,” Dinah laughs. “Go and get showered. Ally’s coming at seven for pre-drinking. I don’t know what time we’re going to the party, but we need you looking cute.”

“Okay,” Camila smiles to herself, M still at the forefront of her mind. “See you in a few.”

-

Camila heads to the drinks straight away, telling Dinah and Ally not to worry about her, and that she kind of _needs_ to be the drunk one tonight. She’s already a little tipsy from their predrinking, but she’s not drunk enough yet. Before she can do that, Dinah pulls her over to meet Normani, Ally’s practically flawless childhood friend, who greets her with a smile.

“Hi,” Normani says, “Drinks are in the kitchen, and that room over there is out of bounds. It’s my roommate’s, and she’s not really a party person and wants to be left alone.”

Dinah laughs. “I’m guessing you two don’t get on, then.”

“No, she’s my best friend,” Normani replies, “she just likes the quiet.”

“Mila’s like that,” Ally nudges her, “she and your roommate would probably get along.”

“Yeah, maybe she can make me feel better about my defeat today.” Camila jokes, before she looks over to the kitchen. “I’m going to get a drink. You guys want anything?”

Normani already has one, and Ally is driving, but Camila gets two cups of whatever’s strongest for herself and downs one of them, before she heads back over to her friends and gives Dinah the drink she’d asked for.

She drinks her second drink fast, too, and she’s already starting to feel a little better. She makes a _lot_ of trips to the kitchen – so many that she loses count – and when the room starts to spin, she decides that she’s going to stop drinking, because she’s not thinking about _Lauren_ anymore.

She dances with a few girls, and when one of them asks if she wants to get out of the party and go somewhere else, she shakes her head. It doesn’t feel right, because it’s not her secret admirer, who managed to make her smile even though she lost to Lauren _fucking_ Jauregui again.

So, she pushes the girl away, and decides to find a quiet space to cool down – her head is spinning and she feels like she’s about to puke – so she staggers into the nearest room and hopes that it’s empty. It’s not. When she sees someone on the bed, she instantly averts her eyes and stammers out a loud, “Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“Oh… hi.”

When Camila realises that she _hadn’t_ walked in on people fucking, she’s relieved, but she looks back at the bed, and sees who it is.

_Lauren Jauregui._

Camila instantly glares at her. “Actually, I’m _not_ sorry.”

“Oh,” Lauren says again, closing the book she’s reading. “Um, well… I don’t- I don’t know… um, what to say to that.”

Camila scoffs. “Wow, for once, the mighty _Lauren Jauregui_ doesn’t know what to say. I’m fucking shocked.”

“I don’t- um…” Lauren looks down at her feet, a faint blush blossoming on her cheeks. “I’m- you know- you know my name? It’s- it’s nice to… to meet you.”

“Oh, fuck off,” Camila slurs, wanting to scoff. This interaction is anything other than _nice_ , just as Lauren always beating her isn’t nice, “ _Nice to meet you_? Are you _kidding me_? You’re- you make me _so_ angry. Lauren _fucking_ Jauregui with her stupid perfect grades and stupid perfect hair and stupid perfect _everything_. Fuck you.”

“I- I’m…” Lauren frowns and squeezes the leg of a stuffed Nala on her bed. “I- I don’t… did I- did I do something wrong?”

“No, you do everything _fucking_ right,” Camila snaps, glaring at Lauren and her irritatingly gorgeous face, “god, you’re the _worst_. Why are you even taking a literature course, huh? What’s the _point_?”

“I- I don’t understand,” Lauren sits up, and Camila can see the tears in her stupid green eyes. “I don’t- I’m- I’m just- I like- I like to read. That’s all.”

“Well you need to _stop_ beating me, fucking bitch,” Camila slurs, toppling over and hitting her head against Lauren’s dresser. “And you need to get a new fucking dresser. It hurt me.”

Lauren jumps off her bed and helps her up. “Are- um, you’re- are you drunk?”

“Yeah, I am. Fucking parties,” Camila huffs, rubbing the spot on her head where it had hit the dresser, “I wouldn’t even be here if my day hadn’t been _ruined_.”

Lauren frowns and leads her over to the bed. “Is- um, is your head okay?”

“No, because you and your fucking dresser ruined it,” Camila groans and sits down. “You’re just- you’re so _infuriating_. Go back to your fucking biology course and your damn animal studies. Go play with some goddamned rabbits.”

“I’m- um…” Lauren looks over to the door, “I- I like lions. And- um… and I’m- I’ll go and get you, um… some ice. For- for your head.”

Camila opens her mouth, because she doesn’t _need_ Lauren’s dumb ice, she can get _better_ ice somewhere else. Ice that isn’t from some annoying girl who beats her all the time. But before she can protest, Lauren has already scampered out of the room, closing the door behind her.

When Camila realises whose bed she’s on, she gets mad. She doesn’t need _Lauren’s_ bed. She hates Lauren and her stupid bed and her annoying dresser that obviously came to life just to hit her over the head, because she _knows_ that Lauren is out to get her. Lauren is her nemesis, _obviously_.

A few minutes later, Lauren comes back with a small bag of frozen peas. Awkwardly, she sits down next to a glaring Camila, and presses it against her head where she’d hit it. That’s annoying too, Camila thinks, because she’s going to have a bruise on her forehead, and it’ll all be Lauren’s fault.

“I don’t need your stupid frozen peas,” Camila dumbly tries to push Lauren away, “I’ll get my _friends_ to get me peas. _Dinah_ has better peas than you.”

Lauren blinks in confusion, but keeps icing Camila’s head. “Um… I don’t- I’m just… trying to help you. Because you- you hit your head. And I don’t- I don’t want it to get swollen, because- because it’ll hurt more.”

“Ooh, look at you and your _dumb_ biology,” Camila mocks her, “What are you going to do, take me to the vet?”

Lauren frowns, and Camila laughs at her own joke, because she’d seriously just _burned_ Lauren. Her nemesis is definitely no match for her. “Um… I’m not- why would I take you to a vet? You’re a human, you go to the people doctor. And it’s just a little bump. Unless- do you think you have a concussion?”

Camila snorts. “You’re a concussion. Fucking bitch.”

“Um…” Lauren shifts uncomfortably, “I am sorry that you- that you hit your head. And- uh-”

“ _No_ , you said it wrong,” Camila argues, before she pulls the frozen peas from Lauren’s hand and drops it on the floor. “That’s cold.”

To Camila’s complete and utter irritation, Lauren _laughs_ at her. She actually fucking _laughs_. It makes Camila hate her ten times more, because Lauren’s laugh is cute, but not in a good way. It’s annoyingly cute. The worst sound she’s ever heard in the world.

Lauren picks the frozen peas up again and holds it against the bump on Camila’s forehead. “It’s supposed to be cold, Camila.”

Camila blinks in shock. “You know- you know my name? I never told you that.”

“Well, um,” Lauren’s cheeks turn a bright pink, “I’m- we’re- we’re in a class together. And you- you know my name. And my major.”

Camila scoffs. “That’s because you’re the _worst_. You’re my arch nemesis.”

“I’m your…” Lauren trails off, her face falling and a little bit of light leaving those annoyingly entrancing emerald eyes. “Oh. Why?”

“You don’t even _know_ ,” Camila scoffs, and says louder to nobody in particular, “she doesn’t even know. Get me another nurse.”

“I’m not- I’m not a nurse,” Lauren frowns at her, and Camila takes the peas and drops them on the floor again. “Stop doing that, I need to make sure your forehead doesn’t get all swollen.”

“You’re so annoying,” Camila continues with her rant, and lays her head down on the pillow. Damn, this is a comfortable bed, but she still _hates_ it, because it’s Lauren’s. She reaches out blindly, and grabs something soft, cuddling it to her chest. “Mmm… comfy.”

“Can you- can you please,” Lauren sounds upset, and Camila opens in her eyes in confusion. Lauren is flapping her hands and shaking her head, making a strange groaning sound. “Please- um, please put- put her down.”

Camila snorts. “I’m not _holding anyone_. How are you beating me in class? Wait- are you blind? Oh my god, you’re blind. Oh well, you’re still my nemesis.”

“I’m not- _mmm_ ,” Lauren squeezes her eyes shut, “ _Nala_. Don’t- don’t- please put her down- I don’t- just _stop touching her_.”

Camila looks down at the stuffed lion in her hands and frowns, because it’s just a _toy_ , it’s not like it’s a big deal. But then she remembers, it’s _Lauren_ ’s lion, and she doesn’t want that, so she tosses it aside and scoffs. “I don’t _want_ your lion. I could have a better lion. I bet- _Dinah_ has a better lion. I’ll have hers. I don’t want _yours_.”

Lauren whimpers when she throws the toy, and darts over to the other side of the room, picking it up and checking it over. She cuddles it to her chest, and mumbles something to herself, before she sets it on the _evil fucking dresser_ that had attacked Camila earlier. She takes a few deep breaths, and then sits back down on the bed, picking up the discarded bag of frozen peas and looking down at her feet.

“I’m- um…” Lauren trails off, “going to- to put these back. In the freezer, I mean. So- um… you- you stay there.”

Camila snorts. “I’ll do whatever the fuck I want to do.”

Lauren disappears, and Camila closes her eyes again, because she hates this bed for being so comfortable, and she hates Lauren for being so nice to her, and she’s just so mad and upset that not even the thought of her secret admirer is making her feel better.

By the time Lauren gets back to the room, Camila is sleeping peacefully, passed out on Lauren’s bed. Lauren grabs a spare blanket and drapes it over Camila, who’d fallen asleep over the covers, and grabs her book to sit over at her desk.

She flips open her notepad, and stares down at the half written letter she’d planned on giving Camila in their next shared class, but now she’s not so sure, because Camila had said a lot of mean things to her. She knows that Camila was drunk, and she wants to think that she’d mistaken Lauren for someone else, but she knows that’s not the case.

Lauren sighs, and looks down at her letter. She’s upset, because Camila doesn’t like her, and Lauren is a little worried that maybe it’s because of something she can’t change, like the way she looks. Or if it’s something bigger, if Camila knows she’s autistic and is one of those people that demonises it. She kind of hopes it’s that, because it’d be easier to stop liking her, that way.

Lauren wonders what she’s going to do when Camila wakes up, and she’s worried about it, because she doesn’t know if she’ll get shouted it, and there’s nothing Lauren hates more than being shouted at. That’s why she was so nervous when Camila had walked in, half because of her crush and half because she was snapping, and snapping leads to shouting.

Thankfully, Camila hadn’t shouted, but she _had_ touched Nala, and Lauren is still upset about that, but she tries not to be, because Camila was drunk and didn’t know.

“Laur, you okay?” When Normani pokes her head around the door, Lauren jumps. “Wait, that’s Ally’s friend.”

“Yes, Camila,” Lauren clarifies. “She’s the girl I told you about. The one in my literature class.”

Normani bursts out laughing. “Wow. Get some, Lo.”

“Some what?” Lauren frowns, and Normani laughs even harder. “What’s so funny? I don’t get it. _Mani_!”

“No, I’m sorry, it’s just that-” Normani cuts herself off with a laugh. “Only _you_ would get the girl you like into your _bed_ and not get laid. What, did she come in here and ask to take a nap?”

“No, she came in here, very drunk, and started telling me that I’m a bitch and she doesn’t like me,” Lauren looks down at her feet, still upset about that. She doesn’t know what she’s done to make Camila dislike her. “She said I’m her nemesis. And- um, then she hit her head on my dresser, that’s why I went to get something frozen, so her forehead wouldn’t get swollen.”

Normani stops laughing and teasing as Lauren explains. “But… why wouldn’t she like you? You’re the sweetest person in the world, Lo. Plus, you said you’d told her that she was beautiful and she smiled.”

“Um… well, I- I told her in a letter,” Lauren blushes, “and she smiled when she was reading it.”

After a few moments, Normani signals she’s going to touch her and squeezes Lauren’s arm comfortingly. “Did you at least _sign_ the letter?”

“Um… no,” Lauren blushes, “I got- I got frightened. So I didn’t.”

Normani smacks a hand to her forehead. “Really, Lo? You could’ve just asked her out.”

“I _can’t_ , she’s- she’s so…” Lauren trails off, because she doesn’t know how to explain it, “I just- I definitely can’t now, because she doesn’t like me.”

Ally, one of Normani’s friends, who is always _super_ nice to Lauren, walks into the room with a smile. “You said my friend was passed out in here?”

“Yeah, Camila,” Normani points her over to the bed, and Ally laughs. “I’m sure I told her this room was out of bounds.”

“Yo, Walz passed out?” A loud, tall, blonde girl waltzes into the room after Ally, and spots Camila lying on the bed. She bursts out laughing. “Oh my fucking god. I’m _not_ carrying her out to the car. Whoa, is this your reclusive roommate?”

Lauren taps on her leg nervously, a little overwhelmed by the new person. “Hello. I am Lauren Michelle Jauregui. It’s nice to meet you.”

The girl laughs even harder. “Oh my god, this is fucking _hilarious_. _You’re_ Lauren?”

Lauren frowns. “You know me?”

“I know _of_ you,” the girl manages to get out between laughs, “Ally, did I tell you about Walz’s arch nemesis? Because it’s this kid over here.”

Lauren pouts, because she’s _not_ a kid, and she hates when people treat her like one, because she’s much smarter than most people. She has a 5.0 GPA. “I’m not a kid, I’m probably older than you, I’m a sophomore.”

“But _look_ at you. You’re all unassuming and cute,” the girl points out with a laugh, “god, I thought you’d at least look intimidating. What’d she say to you?”

“She- um, well, she _did_ tell me I’m her nemesis, though I didn’t get what she meant, because nemesis is a bad thing, and I don’t know her.” Lauren innocently replies, not mentioning her crush. “She said she didn’t like me and kept calling me a bitch, but I haven’t _done_ anything. Also, she said some girl called Dinah has a better lion than me, but no lion is better than my Nala, so she was wrong.”

“That’s me!” The girl says. “I’m Dinah. Even though I find this so funny, I’m sorry if she upset you. She just… really doesn’t like you.”

Lauren feels her heart break twenty times over. “Why not?”

Normani, who looks like she’s getting a little defensive like she always does over Lauren, looks over at the unconscious Camila with a slight glare. “Yeah, why the fuck not?”

“Mani,” Lauren warns, not wanting to start an argument. “It’s okay.”

Ally frowns. “Am I missing something here?”

“Okay, basically, Camila doesn’t like Lauren because Lauren is top of the literature class they’re both in, and Camila is second,” Dinah explains with a laugh, “she’s always been top of the class, and getting beaten out by like, one point every time makes her upset. That’s literally all it is. That’s where this whole _arch nemesis_ thing came from.”

Lauren blinks in surprise. “That’s it? But I don’t- I don’t mean to get better grades. It just happens, because I’m smart.”

Normani looks over at Lauren with a frown. “See. Still got a chance, Laur.”

Lauren blushes, and looks over at the sleeping Camila. “Are you two- um, going to take her home? Or is she… is she staying here? Is the party over, because if the party is over, I can- um, I can sleep on the couch?”

“Oh my god,” Ally laughs, “only Mila would have an _arch nemesis_ that’s as sweet as you, Lauren.”

Lauren blushes again, because she wouldn’t mind taking the couch if it meant her crush would be comfortable, but in the end, she helps Ally and Normani – and a very unhelpful Dinah – carry Camila down to Ally’s car.

Lauren falls asleep that night with Camila’s scent still on her pillow.

-

Camila isn’t sure if a hangover can last for a week, but she’s almost sure of it.

She barely remembers Normani’s party – everything is blurry, but she remembers _someone_ taking care of her after a bump on the head, though their image is all blurry in her mind. All she can remember is how gentle they were with her, which is surprising, considering the party was full of drunk teenagers.

She drags herself to her classes, and when a pop quiz in a literature test is announced, she feels even _worse_ , because she’s barely had time to study, and she knows that Lauren is going to beat her yet again. Just another day of feeling like second best.

The only good thing about her week, was another message from her secret admirer, M. She found the letter just minutes before the pop quiz is announced, and it’s shorter than the last one, but just as sweet.

_Hi,_

_I wanted you to know that you looked incredible at the party last Friday. Yes, I was there, and no, you didn’t dance with me or anything, because I would’ve been way too nervous to even ask you. Even though you look beautiful every day, your dress was gorgeous and you’d curled your hair and I think you were amazing._

_I’ve recently realised that I’ll never have a chance with you, thanks to some new information that’s come to light, but as long as these letters make you smile, I’ll keep sending you them. I know you’ll want to know who I am; curiosity is natural. But I can’t tell you. Here are three facts about me, however._

_One – My favourite colour is blue._

_Two – Lions are my favourite animal._

_Three – M is a letter with some relevance, however it’s not the first letter of my first name, like you may have thought._

_I know you’re going to want to guess, and if you do figure out who I am, I’m okay with that. Hope you have a lovely week._

_Love, M._

Camila doesn’t have time to read this letter over as many times as she’d like, because her teacher is handing out quiz papers, and her good mood is trodden on. Thankfully, the quiz isn’t too bad, and when they’re given the answer sheets to peer mark, Camila is _hoping_ that she’ll get Lauren’s, just so she can give her a zero.

She doesn’t get Lauren’s, but when everyone gets their paper back, and Camila sees she got 25/25, she glances over at Lauren’s test to see what she got. She can’t stop herself from letting out a loud, “Yes!” in victory when she reads Lauren’s score.

24/25.

Their professor hushes her, but Lauren is happy that Camila had shouted out. That means she’d seen Lauren’s paper, which she’d purposely angled near Camila. Lauren had missed out the answer to a question on purpose, so Camila could get a better score than her. Maybe that’d make Camila like her.

When class is over, Lauren swallows her nerves and approaches Camila with a shy smile. “Hello. Are you- um… feeling better?”

Camila looks up, and when she realises who it is, her expression sours. “Why do you care how I feel?”

“You- um… at Mani’s party-” Lauren stutters a little, realising that Camila doesn’t remember anything. It upsets her, because Camila doesn’t remember their first conversation, but she powers through. “You hit your head on the dresser- um, in my room. I didn’t get a chance to- um, ask if you were okay, because a little while after you- you fell asleep, and I helped your friends- um, get you in the car. So I was just wondering…”

Camila stares at her in shock, because if she’d hurt herself in _Lauren’s_ room, it means that Lauren was the one taking care of her. The blurry image in her mind was _Lauren_. “You’re- that was _you_? You took care of me?”

“Well, um… yeah,” Lauren rocks on her heels, “I did. Because you- you hit your head.”

Camila swallows her natural irritation at the other girl for a moment. “Uh… thank you. Now—um, if you’ll excuse me…”

“Congratulations!” Lauren blurts out, before she realises what she’d done and her face turns crimson. Camila looks her over with a frown. “For- um… your score. I see you got- you got full marks on the quiz. Well done.”

Camila so badly wants to rub it in her face, because she’d _finally_ beaten Lauren, but she already feels bad, because Lauren is actually _kind_ and it’s making her sick to her stomach. “Oh… thanks. What’d you get?”

“Oh, um… I got 24/25,” Lauren rocks on her heels and holds out her answer paper, happy her plan had worked, “I guess you beat me!”

“Wait a second,” Camila grabs Lauren’s paper, and the older Latina jumps back nervously. “Your handwriting…”

Lauren watches with wide eyes as Camila pulls something out of her notebook, and she _knows_ it’s her last letter. “No, no, don’t!”

It’s too late. Camila has already opened the letter, and her eyes are wide when she realises that the handwriting on Lauren’s test paper and the letter are the same. “It was you?”

“I- I wasn’t-” Lauren shakes her head, deciding to lie, “no.”

“The handwriting is exactly the same,” Camila points out, “ _you_ like me?”

“I- I’m not…” Lauren stutters, not sure what to say. Camila doesn’t like her at all, let alone like her _back_ , so she’s frightened, because what if Camila is mean again? “It’s not- I didn’t- please don’t be mean again.”

Camila blinks in confusion. “What?”

“You’re- you were- you don’t like me,” Lauren rocks on her heels, “You said- you- that I’m- I’m your nemesis? And- and… that’s why I wrote that part where… where I say I won’t have a chance. Because you don’t like me. Because I get better grades.”

Camila wants to crawl into a hole and die. _Lauren_ is her secret admirer? The Lauren she _hates_? “You’re- who told you that?”

“Dinah, your friend,” Lauren answers, meeting Camila’s gaze for a moment. Camila sees the innocence and confusion in her bright green eyes, and her gut clenches. “She said- um, that you got upset because… because you weren’t top of the class. So- so I didn’t… I missed out this answer, here, see?”

Lauren holds out her test paper and shows Camila the blank question towards the end. “You missed out…?”

“Yes,” Lauren continues, “and then- then I made sure you’d see my score, so then you’d like me. It was a good plan, because you’re being nice right now. And now you know I like you. Would you like to get coffee? I don’t really like coffee, but I see people say that on TV when they ask a cute boy or girl out, so… I thought I would copy that.”

Camila is overwhelmed with information. So overwhelmed that she shakes her head, mumbles out a quick excuse, and flees the room, deciding to skip her next few classes and go straight back to her room. Dinah has the afternoon off on a Friday, so she knows her friend will be in their dorm room.

“Dinah!” Camila says when she slams the door behind her, “Lauren Jauregui is _M_!”

“Yeah, I kind of figured that when she told me her middle name was _Michelle_ and she was drooling over your drunk ass,” Dinah comments, looking up from her laptop, “nice to know you figured it out.”

“Dinah,” Camila folds her arms across her chest, “this is _serious_! How am I supposed to deal with this? I _don’t like her_ , but I always feel bad about rejecting people and-”

Dinah snorts. “ _Please_ , don’t act like you’re not seriously attracted to her. Honestly, _Walz_ , just because you say _stupid_ or _dumb_ before you talk about her perfect hair or her hot ass or her cute smile or _whatever_ , doesn’t mean you’re not into her.”

“What?” Camila scoffs. “I’m not- I could _never be_ -”

“Really?” Dinah laughs. “You’re like, super attracted to her. And if she wasn’t all cute and innocent, you two probably would’ve fucked last week. I can imagine it now – you’d kiss her but pretend it’s a hate kiss, but in reality you’re _so_ into her.”

Camila frowns. _Yeah_ , Lauren is attractive, she’s not _blind_ , but she’s still so infuriatingly _perfect_ that it- _oh._ Camila cuts off her own train of thought, because maybe she’d spent all this time trying to hate Lauren because she had a crush?

Camila doesn’t _get_ crushes. She doesn’t fall for people. So Lauren making her feel that is a _big_ no.

“Figured it out?” Dinah laughs, and Camila flushes. “Go talk to her. She’s sweet, honestly, and you could do a whole lot worse.”

Camila sighs, but she decides that Dinah is probably right. She needs to talk to Lauren, whether she likes it or not. So, she grabs her coat and races back to the literature building, hoping that Lauren is still somewhere nearby.

She thanks the collective gods when she sees Lauren sat on a bench, looking dejected, and decides to start this whole thing off by apologising. “I’m sorry.”

Lauren looks up in shock, before her gaze shoots back over at the building opposite them. “Hi.”

“Hey,” Camila answers, nodding to the spot next to her. “Can I sit?”

“Sure,” Lauren nods, and shifts over a little so Camila can sit down, “why are you here? You said- you said no to me. It’s okay, I knew you would.”

“Apparently I needed some sense knocking into me.” Camila replies. “I went to talk to Dinah. You know, my friend? The one who told you about the whole _nemesis_ thing? She kind of… explained things to me. Made me understand. Honestly, it’s the first time Dinah has ever said something wise in her life. Even if she didn’t say it very… profoundly.”

Lauren hums in thought. “What did she tell you?”

“She told me that I spent so much time trying to hate you because…” Camila trails off, “because I’m attracted to you. And, I mean, I _am_ , look at you, you’re kind of like, one of the hottest girls I’ve ever seen. So I used the whole grades thing as an excuse to dislike you, because I don’t _get_ crushes. I don’t like people like that.”

“Oh,” Lauren brightens up a little, “so… you _will_ \- um, _get coffee_ with me? Though, I don’t think I’ll get coffee, like I said, I don’t really like it much. Maybe I’ll get a hot chocolate.”

Camila smiles to herself, and lets out a shaky breath. “You’re not mad at me?”

“No, I understand what you’re saying,” Lauren replies, “I like you, and you find me attractive. So we can _get coffee_.”

“Alright,” Camila caves, “Yeah. Let’s… let’s go get coffee.”

Lauren stands up and holds her hand out, and Camila takes it cautiously. She follows Lauren to the nearest coffee shop, and they walk in silence, until Lauren looks up nervously. “So… you don’t hate me for beating you in class?”

“No,” Camila replies, “I mean, it’s mildly irritating, yeah. But I guess that gives me more motivation to work hard and kick your ass.”

Lauren hums. “That won’t happen. I’m very smart, I have a 5.0 GPA.”

“Yeah, we’ll see,” Camila says, “why are you taking a literature class, anyway? I thought you were doing a double major in biology and animal studies.”

“Yes, I am training to be a zookeeper, I want to look after big cats,” Lauren tells her, “and I’ve already answered your question. How do you know what I study?”

“You’ve never answered that,” Camila frowns, “and I- um… I might’ve stalked your Facebook a few times.”

“Oh… okay,” Lauren doesn’t think she’s weird, for some reason, “and yes I did. I answered it at the party. You came into my room, angry ranted at me, asked me why I do a literature class, hit your head, kept throwing peas on the floor and you touched Nala, which is never allowed to happen again, or we can’t be friends or anything more.”

“Oh my god,” Camila blushes in embarrassment. “I don’t remember any of that. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay, it’ll be funny for me to look back on.” Lauren decides with a smile. “I was very confused, but… it’ll be funny in the future.”

Camila tries to laugh it off, but she’s mortified. “Um… anyway, you still didn’t answer my question. Why are you taking a literature class if you’re doing all of your animal stuff?”

“Well, um,” it’s Lauren’s turn to blush, apparently, “I’m- I lied to you when you were drunk. I told you it was because I liked to read, but actually… I- um, I was volunteering at freshman orientation, and… and- well, I saw you, and that’s when I started liking you, and I saw one of the classes you were in when I handed you your schedule, because that’s what I was doing there, handing people schedules. And… um, there was still space, so I enrolled in it. So I could… um, talk to you. But I was always too scared.”

“You- _really?”_ Camila is shocked by the explanation. “That’s so… cute. Why didn’t you talk to me?”

“Well, one time I smiled at you, and you looked angry at me.” Lauren says. “So I wasn’t sure if I should talk to you. Other times you looked at me differently, but I didn’t know what that was, because I only know how to tell happy, sad and angry. But then- um, Mani told me to tell you, so I told you in a letter.”

“I’m sorry for seeming so unapproachable.” Camila apologises. “You know, if you’d just talked to me sooner, maybe this whole thing could’ve been avoided. Maybe I wouldn’t have tried to name you my number one foe just because I was attracted to you and didn’t know how to handle it.”

Lauren laughs. “When people ask how we met, I’m going to tell them that.”

Camila rolls her eyes, but follows Lauren into the coffee shop with a happy smile on her face.

Surprisingly, for a simple coffee date with her arch nemesis, it’s better than any date she’s ever had before.


End file.
